Station Casinos will begin demolishing the shuttered Castaways on the north end Boulder Highway today, but the casino company has no plans beyond clearing the 26-acre site.

Demolition will initially involve tearing down the parking structure, which could take weeks to complete. Eventually, all the low-rise portions of the structure, including the casino and the property's small motel-style rooms, will be removed, leaving only the 500-room hotel tower.

Station Casinos expects to demolish the tower sometime in early 2006.

"We're not ready to announce any plans for this location. We're still exploring our options," said Station Casinos spokeswoman Lori Nelson. "We determined that several existing structures located on the site are no longer suitable for use and should be demolished."

Station Casinos is building the $800 million Red Rock Station in Summerlin and planning a redevelopment of the site of the Wild Wild West on Tropicana Boulevard.

Station Casinos bought the Castaways site in October for $33.7 million in a three-way transaction.

Formerly the Showboat, the hotel was closed in January 2004 after its ownership filed for bankruptcy in the previous June, listing debts of more than $50 million.